Almost a year to the day the Barnet Food Partnership hosted “Feeding Barnet: A Food Security Summit” at the ARK Academy. The event attracted a sizable audience to listen to thought leaders talk about the need for food security, the experience of poverty and the possible measures to address both. The event was also an exercise in public co-production which produced a series of 6 recommendations. One of those recommendations was for Barnet Council to reduce its recourse to the use of bailiffs to retrieve council tax debt, a practice fuelling despair, stress and pain among our residents who are supported by our food banks.
One year on and this recommendation has morphed into a full campaign called “Engage Don’t Enforce” led by two of the partnership’s members, Citizens Advice Barnet and Chipping Barnet Foodbank. Through lobbying and the submission of an open letter with over 200 signatories the campaign team are now engaged with the council at a senior level to seek a more just and fair approach to administering council tax. One of the speakers at the summit a year ago was Andrew Forsey OBE, the National Director of Feeding Britain. In Feeding Britain’s most recent bulletin the “Engage Don’t Enforce Campaign” has been highlighted nationally as an example of best practice in community organising.
Please read the endorsement below which has been shared across the entire Feeding Britain Network below and thank you to all our members and partners who have supported the campaign so far and in so many different ways, not least by signing the open letter.
Sharing Good Practice – Council Tax Debt Campaign: Chipping Barnet Foodbank have recently been instrumental, as part of the Barnet Food Partnership, in leading a Feeding Barnet movement, with early success, calling on Barnet Council to reduce the use of bailiffs for council tax debt collection and take a more supportive approach. As a result of their efforts with campaign partners Citizens Advice Barnet, Barnet Council have agreed to a number of actions including investigating any individual cases of poor enforcement practice referred by the local Citizens Advice, reviewing processes for cases involving residents with vulnerabilities to ensure they are supported earlier and aren’t falling further into debt, reviewing and considering adopting the CAB CTAX collection protocol, and establishing bi-monthly meetings with the campaign team and Barnet Council, and 6-monthly meetings with councillors, to resolve issues and discuss progress.
Council Tax debt has emerged as a pressing issue across the wider Feeding Britain network, and we wanted to share this approach from Barnet in case it is helpful to inform similar local efforts in your area. The campaign called upon Barnet Council to consider the merits of a more flexible approach to council tax debt collection involving payment plans and better/ early communication with financially vulnerable households rather than bailiff action. They referenced the risks of bailiff action worsening poverty once additional fees were added and the impact of this especially on financially vulnerable households, the negative impact on wellbeing and mental health, and the additional strain placed on other council services such as temporary housing and social services. For more information about this campaign or to share experiences from your area, please reach out on info@feedingbritain.org
